BILLS GET REVENGE ON THE DOLPHINS

On a warm and muggy Miami night, the Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins 23-18 in a game that could have huge consequences in the AFC East. The Bills defense came up big when they had to and was the key element in the victory. John Holecek and Kurt Schulz were the standouts, but there was a solid effort all around as the Bills' D stuffed the Fish and Dan Marino.

Henry Jones brings down Dolphins receiver O.J. McDuffie.

" This could really be a big one for us," said a jubilant Wade Phillips after the game. "Our defense was outstanding. Everybody talks about their defense, but ours is playing tremendous. We had some heroic performances tonight"

The game was sweet revenge for Phillips and his troops. There is still a bitter taste in their mouths from the Wild Card game last January when the Dolphins ended the Bills season by beating them 24-17. After that one, Jimmy Johnson, the outspoken Dolphin coach, went berserk in the Dolphin locker room by stomping on a box of Flutie Flakes in celebrating the victory.

In an obvious dig at Johnson, Phillips said that he was exuberant about beating the Dolphins "but I didn't bring any hair spray to stomp on."

The Dolphins locker room was quite a contrast from the wild scene last January.

"It's very simple," a dejected Johnson said. "If you turn the ball over and don't convert on third downs, you're going to have a tough time winning."

The win gives the Bills a 3-1 record, second only to the New England Patriots who are undefeated at 4-0. The implications of this game are staggering. If the Bills lost, they would have had a 2-2 record and be two games back of the Patriots. Buffalo has not won at Miami since 1994.

The conditions at game time were good for anyone who wanted a sauna. It had been raining a couple hours before the game, but it let up right before the opening kickoff. With the humidity hovering around 95%, the players knew it was going to be a rough night. Because the ball was wet, along with the playing field, the offenses had a difficult time getting anything generated. But the defenses for both teams also had a lot to do with that.

The Bills D had one of their best games in years as they put pressure on Marino and caused three big turnovers. John Holecek and Kurt Schulz had standout games. Holecek stripped the ball from Marino when he sacked him from the blind side, resulting in a Gabe Northern touchdown return. Schulz had a couple key hits and an interception. The defense had its 3-game touchdown shutout streak end as a result of a 94-yard kickoff return by Brock Marion which gave the Dolphins the ball on the Buffalo 4. The defense allowed the first touchdown to be scored on them since the opening game, but held when Miami tried the two-point conversion.

"Our defense is awfully good," Wade said. "It's a shame we got scored on because we haven't had a touchdown scored on us for a long, long time. We have been playing well on defense but we haven't gotten any recognition because we did not play well in the first game. We are awfully tough to run on and our pass defense is getting better and better."

"They tried to start off the game by running against me and I took that personally and I had a lot of fun with it," Bruce Smith said. "They had established the run in the two previous ball games. That was something that defensively we didn't want them to have. We didn't want them to have that edge in balance with Marino back there throwing the ball."

"We're the ones that made the mistakes that really cost us the game," Marino said. "But they're pretty good on defense. No. 78 is pretty good."

Jay Riemersma was a big target for Flutie

The Bills started their first possession looking like they were going to run right over the Dolphins. Doug Flutie threw to Jay Riemersma for 24 yards. On the next play Antowain Smith dashed around left end for 20 yards to the Miami 15. But now the Bills offense was in the red zone, and everyone knows that has been a danger zone for Buffalo the past few years. On three plays and one false start penalty, the Bills could only get to the 8 so Steve Christie came on and kicked a 26-yard field goal.

The Bills defense held the Dolphins and forced them to punt the ball. But on third down, Flutie could not hang onto a snap and the Dolphins recovered the ball at the Bills 41. Dan Marino passed for 25 yards to R Konrad to the Buffalo 16. J.J. Johnson picked up 4 yards, but the drive stalled there and Olindo Mare kicked a 30-yard field goal to tie it up.

The Dolphins got on the board again when they drove 35 yards in 7 plays, capped by a 21-yard pass from Marino to O.J. McDuffie to the Bills 29. The Bills defense, playing in the intense heat and 95% humidity, stiffened once again and forced Mare to kick a 44-yard field goal that he placed right between the uprights to put the Dolphins up 6-3.

When the Bills got it back, Flutie feeling pressure on both sides, took it up the middle and ran for 17 yards. On the next play, he passed to Riemersma once again, and the big tight end bobbled the ball and then hauled it in. He powered his way for another 5 yards, getting all the way to the Miami 24, 38 yards in all. Two runs netted minus 5 yards and another failed 3rd down pass by Flutie forced Christie to kick a 52 yard field goal.

John Holecek strips the ball from Marino

The biggest play of the game was when John Holecek stripped the ball from Marino when coming in from the blind side and Gabe Northern picked up the ball at the Bills 41 and rumbled all the way for the touchdown. That put the Bills up 13-6, and on the next possession, Dan Marino threw a long pass but Kurt Schultz broke on the ball and picked off at the Buffalo 30.

"They didn't block me, I hesitated and hit Marino from behind," Holecek said. "I was in the right place at the right time."

"Holecek hit him from the back, the ball popped into my hands and then I had to outrun (tackle) Richmond Webb," Northern said. "I was blitzing, the running back came to block, I jumped around him and the ball came straight into my hands. I was just thinking, 'Run as fast as I can and don't drop the ball.' "

At that point, it looked as if the Bills were going to take advantage of the momentum shift and get their offense rolling. However, Flutie did not have a good first half. He had difficulty getting time to throw and did not complete any passes to wide receivers until the second half.

The third quarter was a frustrating one for both Flutie and Marino, as they could not mount anything until late in the quarter when the Dolphins were the beneficiary of an interference call on Thomas Smith that put the ball on the Bills 19. The Dolphins got to the Bills 8, but with three straight incompletions it forced Mare to kick his 4th field goal of the night, this one from 25 yards out and the Dolphins were within one point.

The Bills finally got a drive going. Starting from their own 20, Flutie completed his first pass to Eric Moulds for 40 yards. With a second and 20 at midfield, Flutie hooked up again with Riemersma for 16 yards. Flutie then completed passes to Moulds for 5 yards, and then got a big-gainer from Kevin Williams when he caught the pass and got down to the Dolphin 6. On the next play, Flutie tossed one to the right corner and Moulds leaped up to make the touchdown reception.

"They gave us one-on-one coverage on the outside," said Flutie. "I put it up and let Eric go get it . . . It was time to be more aggressive on that drive. I'm very comfortable in the spread offense. It felt easy."

With the Dolphins starting to move towards mid-field, Marino attempted a pass to Troy Drayton, but Holecek stepped into the pass and had clear sailing in front of him. He ran down the right sidelines for 35 additional yards. Flutie could not get the Bills offense in gear this time and they had to settle for a 31-yard Christie field goal.

"I was in the right place at the right time," Holecek said of his first interception of the season. "He threw it right at me. I was unbelievably shocked."

On the kickoff, Brock Marion fielded the ball at the Dolphin 3, got a couple great blocks and was off to the races. He was finally brought down by Kamil Loud at the Buffalo 4. The Dolphins were pushed back to the 9 when Schultz tackled Cecil Collins for a 7 yard loss. But Marino came right back and threw to a wide open McDuffie, breaking the Bills defense touchdown shutout streak. The Dolphins failed on their two-point conversion try.

The Bills took the kickoff and never gave it up from that point on. It was a moral victory to beat the Dolphins on their own turf and on Monday Night Football.

"We can definitely play better," Flutie said. "But I think we're up with the elite in the AFC. It's a huge win.. Hopefully we can get both games against them this year."

Flutie had a difficult time passing against the Dolphin defense. He only completed 12 out of 25 passes for 186 yards.

"I threw the ball poorly in the first half," Flutie admitted. "I said at halftime, 'I've got to let it rip,' and then I hit the deep ball to Eric."

Next Sunday the Bills entertain the Pittsburgh Steelers at a sold out Ralph Wilson Stadium. If they play the way they did in Miami, the Bills should have an easy go at it. Copyright © 1999 Bills Thunder & Rick Anderson, all rights reserved.